Aerodynamic Investigations of Box Girder Bridges

Abstract: Box girder bridge decks have recently come into wider use. This is of particular interest in the case of suspension bridges where deck form strongly affects the possible response to wind action. The present paper determines and compares aerodynamic (flutter) stability coefficients for five representative box girder bridge decks. In addition, data on a modern truss-stiffened bridge and a classical girder-stiffened one are included. Two deck forms having more gradual flow-splitting characteristics are much more favorable than other decks from a flutter stability standpoint. The deck forms in question resemble the published sections of the Severn and Lillebaelt suspension bridges, respectively.